Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 15

The cooking operation was a resounding success. The cooks who tasted the meat grilled by Choi Hyun-seok were moved to tears.

‘From now on, I’ll train them thoroughly,’ Choi Hyun-seok mused, already planning how to best utilize his newfound culinary team.

“Alright, everyone! Great job! Let’s clean up these ingredients and get started on dinner preparations!” As soon as they returned to the unit after the hunt, the cooks sprang into action.

Cook Khulkan approached Choi Hyun-seok, who was observing the bustling scene from the sidelines. “Here’s your share.”

He coolly handed over a hefty bundle of meat. It was surprisingly heavy and much larger than Choi Hyun-seok had anticipated.

A bright smile spread across Choi Hyun-seok’s face. “Thank you, Khulkan! Can I join you again next time?”

“Of course! Come anytime!” Khulkan readily agreed.

“Then, I’ll be off. I need to prepare dinner.”

“Have a good one!” Choi Hyun-seok waved as he watched Khulkan disappear into the kitchen.

As soon as Khulkan was out of sight, Choi Hyun-seok’s smile turned bitter.

‘Come anytime? I’ll be here every day, milking you dry!’ He thought, remembering the whopping 70 Hero Points he’d spent on this operation. He fully intended to exploit the cooks until they were nothing but dried squid.

“Good. The level-up problem is solved. Now, I just need to solve the Bobo problem.” The primary reason he’d come to the kitchen in the first place was for Bobo. The gourmet Bobo had such a refined palate that only fresh monster meat would do.

“I heard the taste remains consistent for about two days after a monster dies, so there shouldn’t be any issues.” Apparently, the flavor of monster meat held up for a while post-mortem. What Choi Hyun-seok held now was freshly caught and butchered meat. Bobo was sure to be delighted.

“But where did he go?” Choi Hyun-seok looked around, puzzled. He’d gone to all this trouble to get the meat, but Bobo was nowhere to be found. “I definitely tied him up here…”

His brow furrowed as something caught his eye. “This is…?” The rope he’d used to restrain Bobo before the hunt lay on the floor, severed. Choi Hyun-seok suddenly recalled his conversation (?) with Bobo before leaving.

“I’ll bring you delicious meat, so you have to wait quietly.”

“Kwang!” Bobo had responded enthusiastically, as if promising to behave. But the current situation was exactly what he’d feared.

“Hero-nim! Where did the dog… no, where did Bobo go!?” Rachel exclaimed, materializing with a *pop!* on Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder.

“I don’t know. I definitely tied him up here…”

“That’s why I told you that flimsy rope wouldn’t hold him!”

“I know, so shut up.” Choi Hyun-seok was well aware that the rope was inadequate. But he hadn’t had time to take Bobo home and return to the kitchen. Tying him up had been a last-ditch effort.

“Haa… I just hope he didn’t cause any trouble.” Anxiety began to gnaw at him.

Just then, Bobo’s bark, “Kwang!”, echoed through the air.

“Kwang!” Choi Hyun-seok turned to see Bobo bounding toward him.

“Bobo! You rascal! Where have you been? I was worried sick!”

“Hek, hek!” Bobo nuzzled against Choi Hyun-seok, his face radiating happiness.

“What’s got you so excited?” Choi Hyun-seok smiled, stroking Bobo’s head.

“Kitchen manager! The stored food ingredients have disappeared!”

“The meat warehouse is a disaster!”

“Who the hell messed with the warehouse!?” A commotion erupted from inside the kitchen.

Choi Hyun-seok fixed his gaze on Bobo. “Bobo…?”

“Hek, hek!”

“Don’t tell me…?”

“Burp-!” Bobo, wearing an innocent smile as if he knew nothing, let out a hearty burp.

“…”

“…”

Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel exchanged a silent look. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they nodded in unison.

“Let’s make a run for it.”

“Time to disappear.” The hero and fairy were perfectly in sync in times like these.

***

Choi Hyun-seok and Bobo returned to Bobo’s house. As soon as they arrived, Bobo’s attention was immediately drawn to the meat Choi Hyun-seok had brought.

“You want to eat?” Instead of answering, Bobo swallowed a chunk of meat whole.

“Munch munch!” Fortunately, the meat seemed to satisfy Bobo’s discerning palate.

Choi Hyun-seok sighed as he watched Bobo chew contentedly. “Hoo… Bobo, is it good?”

“Kwang!”

“You ate so much earlier, and you’re still eating meat?”

“Kwang!” Bobo barked enthusiastically, as if to say this amount of food was nothing. The appetite of a growing puppy was truly astonishing. Choi Hyun-seok shook his head, momentarily imagining how enormous Bobo would become when fully grown.

‘Let’s not think about that…’ It was already a handful dealing with him now, but what if he got even bigger? A disaster would occur every time Bobo wagged his tail. A light head-butt could crush someone’s bones.

‘Surely he won’t get *that* big.’ Choi Hyun-seok pushed the thought aside and stroked Bobo’s head. “Eat up. I’ll bring you lots more delicious meat tomorrow.”

“Kwang!”

At that moment, system notifications chimed in rapid succession.

[Bobo’s favorability increases]

[Favorability has reached its goal]

[Hero Quest completed]

[Acquired 200 Hero Points]

▫Name: Choi Hyun-seok

▫Title: Aspiring Hero

▫Level: 23

·Strength: 31

·Agility: 29

·Stamina: 33

·Mana: 10

·Charisma: 23

·Bonus Points: 22

▫Hero Points: 200

▫Abilities: Pickaxeing (C), Command (E), Cooking (F)

▫Skills: –

“Good! 200 points!”

“Oh! You completed the Hero Quest!?” Rachel exclaimed, excited by Choi Hyun-seok’s cheer.

“Yeah. I feel much more secure now.” Choi Hyun-seok smiled contentedly at the increased points.

‘What should I do with these?’ He wondered, a hint of happiness in his expression as he contemplated how to spend them. It was a complete turnaround from his initial disappointment with the Hero Shop.

‘When I think about it, the Hero System has helped me in so many ways.’ From the raid run to meeting Hemis and arriving here, the Hero System (quests, shop, points) had been instrumental.

‘If it weren’t for the Hero Shop, I wouldn’t have become friends with Bobo.’ Instead of friendship, he likely would have ended up as Bobo’s lunch.

‘I wouldn’t have won the favor of the cooks either.’ The cooks were a beacon of hope in the otherwise bleak Demon King’s army life. They were valuable assets who would help him level up in the future. He needed to cultivate their goodwill and exploit them thoroughly.

“Let’s save the Hero Points for now and use them when we really need them.” Choi Hyun-seok nodded, organizing his thoughts, then suddenly frowned. “Bonus points have increased?” The bonus points at the very bottom of his stats, which hadn’t budged until now, had suddenly risen.

·Bonus Points: 22

“Ah, those are stat points you get each time you level up.” Rachel explained.

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened. “There was such a thing!?” He hadn’t known about the additional stat points because this was his first level up. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Haven’t you ever played a game, Hero-nim? It’s common knowledge to allocate stats when you level up.” Rachel replied, as if stating the obvious.

“Haa… it’s okay.” Choi Hyun-seok sighed and looked at the status window again. “22 points… I went from level 1 to level 23, so I received 1 point each time I leveled up?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s really stingy.” Choi Hyun-seok frowned.

“Well~ Leveling up is fast, though. And where else would you get even 1 point?”

“You’re being unnecessarily optimistic at times like this.” Choi Hyun-seok scratched his head, trying to decide. “So, where should I invest the bonus points?”

“You have to distribute them among the four basic stats: strength, stamina, agility, and mana.”

“What about charisma?” Choi Hyun-seok had unlocked a hidden stat called charisma in addition to the basic ones.

“Hidden stats can’t be increased through leveling up.”

“Hmm, then where should I invest…?” Choi Hyun-seok studied the status window again.

▫Level: 23

·Strength: 31

·Agility: 29

·Stamina: 33

·Mana: 10

·Charisma: 23

·Bonus Points: 22

After a long pause, Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fist. “Let’s put it all into strength!”

“What are you talking about!?” Rachel exclaimed.

“Just listen.” Choi Hyun-seok wasn’t acting impulsively. “Strength, agility, stamina – they’re all important in a fight, but if I had to choose one, it’s strength. If you’re overwhelmed by strength, it’s hard to win, no matter what you do.”

“So?”

“Conversely, if I overwhelm *them* in strength? Then I can do anything.” Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes gleamed. “No matter how monstrous these guys are, they’ll still die if they can’t breathe, right?”

“Right…?”

“So! The fight’s over with a simple chokehold.” You didn’t need overwhelming strength, just enough to execute a technique. If he had that, Choi Hyun-seok was confident he could dominate his opponents.

“Well, it’s limited to use against monsters that are too big. Fortunately, this enemy isn’t.” His opponent in the upcoming duel, Orc Kurken, was certainly large, but Choi Hyun-seok was no small fry himself.

“It’s enough to try a technique. So let’s increase strength.”

“I understand what you’re saying, Hero-nim,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “Still, you have to raise your stats evenly. Mana, in particular, needs to be high!”

“Why?”

“Wait a moment.” Rachel rummaged in her chest and produced a pair of red horn-rimmed glasses. She even pulled out a small baton from somewhere, transforming into teacher mode. “Hero-nim! Listen carefully. At first, basic physical abilities are important, as you said. But as time goes on, mana becomes increasingly important compared to physical abilities.”

“Hmm, why?”

“Think about it. What’s the point of being strong? What if the opponent uses magic to hurl house-sized rocks? What if they shoot lasers that pierce anything? Are you going to block that with strength?” This wasn’t Earth. In a world filled with bizarre and dangerous magic, physical abilities alone had their limits.

“Mana is the beginning and the end. Even the physical abilities you mentioned can be enhanced with mana.”

“Oho…”

“Anyway, mana is important! I guarantee that if you try to block high-level magic with your bare body, you’ll be vaporized.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded, absorbing Rachel’s rapid-fire explanation. “Okay. I get it.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

“So you’re saying I should put everything into mana?” Rachel’s eyes widened. “Of course not! Is what’s on top of your neck just for show!?”

“Why are you yelling again!? You just said that mana is the beginning and the end!”

“That’s true… but still, you can’t put everything into it!”

“Why?”

“Eff- efficiency is the problem…! It’s better to have high stats evenly than to have just high mana!”

“You seem flustered. You don’t actually know very well either, do you?”

“Yes, I do!” Rachel waved her baton wildly, flustered.

“I understand, so calm down. You’re making me dizzy.”

“Ahem…!” Rachel cleared her throat and composed herself. “Anyway, you don’t even know how to use mana properly yet.”

“That’s true.”

“So, for now, focus on strength, as you said, but raise your stats as evenly as possible.”

“Okay.” Choi Hyun-seok immediately began allocating his stats.

▫Level: 23

·Strength: 40

·Agility: 34

·Stamina: 36

·Mana: 15

·Charisma: 23

·Bonus Points: 0

Strength +9. Agility +5. Stamina +3. Mana +5. He used all 22 points.

“I guess raising it like this would be fine?”

“Not bad. But you must remember to gradually increase the proportion of mana in the future!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Ah! That’s right!” Rachel clapped her hands, as if suddenly remembering something. “Hero-nim, learn the ability called Basic Mana Control in the shop now.”

“Mana Control? What’s that?”

“It’s an ability that allows you to use basic mana, as the name suggests. It’s the most important thing for you right now.”

“Ooh…!” Rachel raised her chin at Choi Hyun-seok’s exclamation. “You can probably buy it for 100 Hero Points. Then the basic preparation is complete.” Rachel tucked her horn-rimmed glasses back into her chest pocket, as if there was nothing more to explain.

Choi Hyun-seok looked at Rachel, surprised. “You were actually useful!”

“How dare you say such rude things to a great partner like me! Besides, it feels even worse because it seems so sincere!”

“That’s the truth.” Had Rachel ever been helpful since they met? Almost never, if he was honest. To be frank, there was nothing at all except that he had someone to talk to.

“But recently, you’ve been using magic and giving information. It seems quite helpful.”

“Hmph! I completed the exclusive fairy education more than a hundred years ago! This much is basic!” Rachel puffed out her chest proudly.

“I hope you show such a great appearance often in the future.”

“Of course!” Rachel’s nose was practically touching the sky.

“But Rachel,” Choi Hyun-seok frowned, calling her name. “The Basic Mana Control you mentioned… it’s not in the Hero Shop?”

“It’s not there?” Rachel blinked, embarrassed.

“Yeah. I can’t find it, no matter how hard I look.”

“That can’t be…?” Rachel, her eyes darting around, gave a sheepish smile. “It’s been a while since I was trained… I guess the shop system has changed in the meantime. Hahaha!”

“Ah, that’s right! Hahaha!”

“Well, that’s right! Hahahahaha…!”

“Hahahahahahaha!” Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel laughed loudly, as if it were genuinely funny.

Choi Hyun-seok, after a moment, suddenly turned serious and averted his gaze. “Tsk. I knew it.”

“…”

“You’re useless as always.”

“I can hear you!?”

“Ah, I said it for you to hear. You heard it. That’s a relief.” Choi Hyun-seok smiled, a corner of his mouth twitching.

Rachel gritted her teeth at his nasty look. “Ugh…!” She began punching Choi Hyun-seok’s chest.

Pow. Pow. The punches, weaker than a cat’s paw, didn’t even tickle.

“Oh my. Your punches are useless too.”

“Kyaaa! You’re so annoying!”